A Week at the Lake
by redroosterdawn
Summary: Summary: The captain gets tired of Trip & T’Pol fighting. He sends them on a little excursion.
1. Chapter 1

_**A Week at the Lake**_

_by red rooster dawn_

T&T

Disclaimer: All the characters are the property of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. They are use purely for entertainment value only.

Summary: The captain gets tired of Trip & T'Pol fighting. He sends them on a little excursion.

Scene one Reaching the breaking point

The Captain threw his hands up in the air in disgust as he looked over at Hoshi. He was trying to have a conversation with Hoshi in his ready room about the wonderful job Hoshi had been doing.

Her work had been outstanding and had allowed them to communicate with all the new species that they had been encountering the last six months. She had programmed the Universal Translator with ten new languages.

But he couldn't hear himself think. The two of them were at it once again. He could hear them yelling at each other. Trip and T'Pol were once again having a major disagreement about something.

The Captain looked at Hoshi and declared "I'm sorry for the disruption Hoshi. This has got to stop. It's about time I did something about it."

"What are you going to do Sir?" asked Hoshi curiously.

"I want you to scan for the nearest class M planet. And please send Lieutenant Reed to me ASAP please." replied Archer angrily.

A few minutes later Malcolm knocked on the door to the ready room before entering. He wondered what the Captain wanted. He was sure that it had something to do with the Commander and Sub Commander.

"Sit down Malcolm. I have a job I need you to do for me." started Archer.

"Does this have anything to do with the Commander and Sub Commander, Sir?" begged Malcolm hopefully.

"Yes. I'm sure you're well aware of the two of them and their many petty disagreements." continued Archer.

"Yes Sir. I'm pretty sure everyone on board has been exposed to one of their discussions at one time or another." replied Malcolm smirking.

"That I'm sure of. What I want you to do Malcolm is get together some survival gear for the two of them to last them for a couple of weeks. I have Hoshi looking for a class M planet to set them down on.

I plan on leaving them there and have them work out their problems together while they transverse two hundred and fifty miles to reach the rendezvous point." smiled Archer.

"And I have the perfect toy to give to them." smiled Malcolm.

"A toy? I'm trying to teach them a lesson Malcolm, not to amuse them." replied Archer.

"Yes Sir. What I mean Sir, I have a pair of bracelets that magnetically attached to each other. Sort of like the old style handcuffs. If they get more then a hundred feet apart from the other they get a nasty zap.

The mechanism is designed so they can be apart for a short time each day to take care of personal business." grinned Malcolm as he rubbed his hands together.

"Perfect Malcolm. Go for it. I'll meet you in the shuttle bay in an hour." ordered Archer.

The Captain went out onto the bridge to see Hoshi. He leaned over to her and whispered to her "Have you found anything yet?"

"Yes Sir. There's a Class M planet an hour away." replied Hoshi.

"Good give the coordinates to Travis and send Trip and T'Pol to my ready room." replied Archer.

Ten minutes later Trip and T'Pol were standing in front of the Captain. They were wondering what was going on. They had suddenly change direction and were headed to this small backwards planet. According to the Vulcan Data Base there was no animal life on the planet.

"I supposed you both are wondering why I called you into my ready room." began Archer smugly.

"Yes Sir!" they both replied smartly together.

"Well it seems that you two are having a problem playing nice together. This has been an on going problem for quite some time now and it has to stop. Your fighting is disrupting the smooth operation of the ship and the crew." continued Archer.

"I don't understand Sir." replied Trip.

"T'Pol and I hardly ever fight. We disagree from time to time on how to do some things, but usually we get along just fine." answered a puzzled Trip.

"Do you agree with the Commander assessment, T'Pol?" asked Archer.

"Yes Sir. In the ten months we have been here in space, the Commander and I have had only two arguments. Both times you were away on a mission. We have had a few minor disagreements along the way, but we usually settle them without much difficulty." replied a stoic T'Pol.

"Is that so." smiled Archer. "I've had reports of you two fighting at least twenty times in the last two months alone. And I have seen or heard you fighting at least ten times myself." replied Archer in total amazement.

He couldn't understand how the two of them were so unaware of how disruptive their behaviors were.

"Sorry Sir. But we haven't had an argument since we were on that planet with the spores." replied T'Pol.

"Then what was going on between the two of you just a half hour ago. I couldn't hear myself think with the two of you yelling at each other." responded Archer.

"We were discussing what time we were going to lunch Sir. The chef has made pecan pie today. I wanted to make sure we got there in time to get some." replied Trip with a big grin.

All the Captain could do was shake his head and then scream. After taking a few minutes to regain his composure he turned back to them.

"You both are going to be spending a week to ten days together down on the planet below. Get whatever personal items you're going to need and then report to shuttle bay one in an hour. Dismiss!" ordered Archer.

He got together with Malcolm and Hoshi to come up with a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A Week at the Lake**_

_by red rooster dawn_

T&T

Disclaimer: All the characters are the property of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. They are use purely for entertainment value only.

Summary: The captain gets tired of Trip & T'Pol fighting. He sends them on a little excursion.

Scene two The fun begins

An hour later they all met in the shuttle bay. Malcolm handed Trip and T'Pol their gear. He included a hammock and fishing pole that Trip had asked for.

The Captain, Malcolm, Trip, and T'Pol got into the shuttle pod. Twenty minutes later they landed on the surface a couple miles from a lake. Malcolm secured the bracelets on Trip and T'Pol.

"Hey! What's this for?" yelled Trip.

"It's your wedding bands." joked Malcolm.

"It's to make sure you don't run away from T'Pol on your wedding night and honeymoon." the Captain let out a laugh in response.

"Very good Malcolm. I hadn't thought of that. The way they go at it they might as well be married."

Trip and T'Pol were not amused. The scowls on their faces gave the impression of wanting to kill someone. Malcolm definitely would be a good start. Malcolm would be pulling extra duty for a month when he got back and it wouldn't be the kind he enjoyed.

The Captain will be having a lot of sleepless night. He would fix the environmental controls in his sleeping quarters to change the temperature in the room every hour on the hour from a low of fifty degrees to a hundred and ten.

The Captain gave T'Pol a tri-corder with the details of their trip.

"There is a trail that leads to the rendezvous point. The trail is about two hundred and fifty miles long. It should take you seven to ten days to cover the distance and make the rendezvous point. See you then." informed Archer.

They watched as the shuttle pod took off. They both put on their packs which weighed about forty pounds a piece. Before T'Pol knew what was happening, Trip bent down and threw her over his shoulder and headed off towards the lake. T'Pol whacked Trip a few times while yelling at him.

"Charles! Put me down! Where do you think you are going? The trail is in the other direction. Charles!"

Trip said nothing. He just kept on walking towards the lake. Forty minutes later they arrived at the lake. Trip put her down onto her own two feet and began to set up the camp.

T'Pol glared at him and then asked "Why did you bring me here Charles? You know we are supposed to be hiking to the rendezvous point."

"You don't honestly think I'm going to hike two hundred and fifty miles through god only knows what to satisfy the hair that the Captain has got up his ass. I don't think so.

Besides what this little excursion is really all about is you and me learning to communicate better. We have the tendency to get so caught up in the little games we play with each other that we don't realized that we're disturbing other people in the process.

We can accomplish all that here at the lake just as easy as taking a walk through the woods together." replied Trip now grinning.

T'Pol looked at him and realized that he was right. The Captain was upset with the method of their discussions. He had said they needed to communicate better. Walking two hundred and fifty miles wasn't going to help that.

They spent the next couple of hours setting up the camp and gathering firewood. They built a fire and sat down to eat dinner. Later they stretched out in front of a small fire. T'Pol gazed into it as if she was meditating. After the events of the day she needed to very badly.

Trip just looked to the stars and thought about what he was going to do for the next week and a half. They stayed that way for the next few hours before going to bed. Their bed was a single large two man sleeping bag. They knew this was another one of Malcolm's sick idea of a joke.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A Week at the Lake**_

_by red rooster dawn_

T&T

Disclaimer: All the characters are the property of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. They are use purely for entertainment value only.

Summary: The captain gets tired of Trip & T'Pol fighting. He sends them on a little excursion.

Scene 3 Reflection

The next morning after gathering some more firewood for a fire and eating breakfast, Trip took T'Pol fishing. They hiked around the lake until they found a nice shady spot under a large tree.

Trip dug up some worm like creatures from under a rock. He then found a comfortable spot to sit and relax. He drew T'Pol down in front of him between his legs.

Trip then showed T'Pol how to bait the hook and cast the hook into the water. He then drew T'Pol back until she was resting on his chest.

"Why are we doing this Charles?" asked T'Pol quietly.

"Fishing is an activity humans do when they want to spend time reflecting on something or someone. It is similar to your meditation that you do at night before you go to bed. We sit back and relax enjoying the peaceful quietness and beauty of one's surroundings." replied Trip.

"It is quite beautiful here. And it is very quiet unlike being on the ship with all the hustle and bustle that is always going on." agreed T'Pol.

"Right. Here we can think about how we have been disrupting everyone else with the games that we play." continued Trip.

"What do you mean, games we play?" asked a surprised T'Pol.

"Come on T'Pol you know what I mean. You like to see how much you can tick me off to get an emotional response. I think the more I respond the more amused you get." smiled Trip.

"That's not so Charles, I would never do that to you." replied T'Pol innocently.

"Of course you would T'Pol. Just as much as I love to bait you to get a rise out of you. It's fun and you know it T'Pol." smiled Trip.

"I guess you're right Charles. I do sometimes like to see you get upset. You do look quite funny when your eyes bug out, your nose flares up, and your face turns red when you're upset." replied T'Pol as her eyes began to twinkle.

"See we didn't have to hike two hundred and fifty miles to reach that conclusion. In fact we probably wouldn't be talking to each other. You would be too upset and angry with the Captain to talk." smiled Trip.

"That's not true. I don't get angry. That's an emotional response." replied T'Pol with a sound of indignation in her voice.

"Yes you do T'Pol. You just hide it better than most. But I can tell by looking into your eyes. They change color when you get mad. Also your body becomes more sensual when you're angry, because you become more defiant." smiled Trip.

T'Pol was at a lost for words. She couldn't believe she was that transparent or was it Charles really did know her better then she wanted to admit. But why would he take the trouble to notice the subtleties in her mannerisms.

Maybe Charles had after awhile, thrown away his preconceptions about her. Maybe he finally was looking at her as T'Pol the woman and not T'Pol the Vulcan.

She would have to think about this further. Maybe Charles was right, this trip to the planet was all about reflecting on the changes in Charles and her relationship with him. Have they gone from adversaries to friends to maybe something more?


	4. Chapter 4

_**A Week at the Lake**_

_by red rooster dawn_

T&T

Disclaimer: All the characters are the property of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. They are use purely for entertainment value only.

Summary: The captain gets tired of Trip & T'Pol fighting. He sends them on a little excursion.

Scene 4 Having a little fun

After they had been fishing all morning, they returned to camp for lunch. But Trip decided it was time to have some fun. They had spent the morning fishing while engaging in quiet reflection. Now it was time to let it all out and have some fun. He stripped down to his shorts and said to T'Pol

"Time to strip it down woman, we're going swimming."

T'Pol looked at him as though he was crazy.

"I'm not going swimming with you. I don't like being in cold water." replied T'Pol hoping Trip would take a hint.

"Come on T'Pol, it will be fun." smiled Trip playfully.

"Charles, you know I come from a very hot and dry planet. Jumping into water and thrashing around in it is something Vulcans don't do." replied T'Pol with apprehension. She had a feeling that Charles wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"T'Pol, you have two choices. You can either strip it down and join me in the water or I'm going to pick you up and throw you in. What's your choice going to be?" asked Trip smugly.

He knew she would join him. She always put up a fight, but in the end she would do as he ask.

"Ok Charles, if you insist, but I'm not very pleased about this." said T'Pol defiantly.

A short time later they were both in the water swimming. Trip was surprised at how well T'Pol moved in the water. He had thought T'Pol might not have been able to swim, otherwise why else wouldn't she want to go into the water.

But as was usually the case, he had underestimated her. Not only was she a good swimmer, but she was even more graceful in the water then she was on land. She was truly an amazing woman thought Trip.

After an hour they came out of the water and ate lunch.

"I think it's time for a nap. Come here T'Pol." yawned Trip as he reached out to her and took her by the arm.

"I'm not tired. Where are we going?" asked T'Pol suspiciously.

He better not think I'm getting in that sleeping bag with him again. Trip led her over to the hammock he had hung between two trees. He got in before pulling T'Pol in on top of him.

T'Pol was now lying face down, half on and half off Trip. Her head was resting on his chest.

"Are you comfortable T'Pol?" asked Trip sensually.

"What's the purpose of this Charles? You know I can't stand the strong odor of humans." responded an indignant T'Pol.

"You're supposed to relax and close your eyes. Feel the cool breeze in your face and the swaying of the hammock. And enjoy the closeness of being together." explained Trip quietly.

T'Pol closed her eyes and allowed herself to become one with the swaying hammock. She could feel Trip's heart beating in a steady rhythm. Before long she was asleep dreaming a very sweet dream of being happy. They stayed that way for a few hours before waking up.

They ate dinner before taking a walk around the lake. Later when they returned Trip lit a fire as they watched the sun go down. Enjoying the beauty of the many colors in the sky. Afterwards they gazed upon the stars until it was time to go to bed.

This was the routine they followed for the next ten days. Trip was surprised as he became closer to T'Pol. She was a very special woman. He was finally seeing her as the beautiful woman she was and not as a Vulcan pariah, to be scorn at all cost.

For T'Pol the time spent with Trip had turn out to be special. She no longer was feeling like an outcast. Trip was a very loving and caring man. She felt so good being with him. He made her feel special.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A Week at the Lake**_

_by red rooster dawn_

T&T

Disclaimer: All the characters are the property of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. They are use purely for entertainment value only.

Summary: The captain gets tired of Trip & T'Pol fighting. He sends them on a little excursion.

Scene 5 Business as usual

Meanwhile back on the Enterprise the Captain was having dinner with Hoshi and Malcolm. They all had a relax smile and a sense of contentment on their faces.

"Ah ...... do you hear that?" asked Archer.

"What! No Sir. What do you mean?" asked Hoshi.

"Peace and quiet for a week. No yelling or screaming. This has been so nice." replied Archer sighing.

"I wonder how T'Pol and the Commander are doing Sir." asked Hoshi.

"Probably ready to kill each other by now." smirked Malcolm.

"No way Sir. I think they are secretly in love with each other." replied Hoshi.

"Why do you say that Hoshi? I know he dislikes the Vulcans almost as much as I do." responded Archer.

"The Commander is a hound Sir. Sooner or later he'll be on her scent. He can't help himself. After all T'Pol is a beautiful woman even though she is a Vulcan. And the Commander is only a man." grinned Hoshi.

The Captain laughed. Maybe Hoshi was right. If there was one thing that was true about Trip, he was a womanizer. If it had a skirt on he would chase after it sooner or later.

"I wonder how far along they are?" smiled Archer.

"We could scan the planet and see Sir." offered Malcolm.

"Nah .... I think I'd rather enjoy the peace and quiet for a few more days." smiled Jonathan. Hoshi and Malcolm laughed in agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A Week at the Lake**_

_by red rooster dawn_

T&T

Disclaimer: All the characters are the property of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. They are use purely for entertainment value only.

Summary: The captain gets tired of Trip & T'Pol fighting. He sends them on a little excursion.

Scene six Time to come home

Ten days after it all began the Captain figured it was time to retrieve Trip and T'Pol. They should have enough time to work things out or killed each other.

"Malcolm, Hoshi with me, let's retrieve our wayward friends." bellowed Jonathan with a smile.

"Yes Sir!" they both replied as they left their stations to go with the Captain. Travis was sulking in the corner. Once again he had been left out of all the fun. Why didn't they like him?

Meanwhile Trip and T'Pol had just finished eating lunch after their daily swim. As had been their ritual for the past week they got into the hammock together to take their daily nap. T'Pol snuggling in as close as she could get to Trip, where they both dream of a life together.

Malcolm landed the shuttle craft in a clearing near the rendezvous point. They all got out and took a look around. Each one of them checking out a different area around the shuttle craft. They met back twenty minutes later.

"Did either one of you see any sign of them?" asked Archer.

"No Sir." they both answered.

"You don't supposed anything happen to them Sir?" asked Hoshi.

"No, I don't think so. We had the planet checked out pretty good before hand. There didn't appear to be any wild life for them to worry about. They are probably just late.

Knowing them they probably have been fighting. Malcolm, why don't you check the ship's scanners to see if they're close by." ordered Jonathan.

Ten minutes later he came back.

"No signs of them Captain. I don't have any idea where they may be." reported Malcolm.

"Well let's get back in the ship and fly back along the trail. Maybe we will find some trace of them." ordered Archer.

Thirty minutes later Hoshi had two life signs on her scanner, one human and one Vulcan.

"I've found them Sir." declared a happy Hoshi.

"Where are they? Don't tell me they got lost." bellowed an unhappy Archer. He wasn't too happy that Trip and T'Pol hadn't made any effort to reach the rendezvous point.

"It appears that they decided to go off in a different direction Sir. Instead of following the trail east, they went south to a lake Sir." replied Hoshi. She wondered who's idea that was.

Malcolm put the shuttle craft down close to the original clearing. After a thirty minute hike, they came across Trip's and T'Pol's camp. Malcolm checked inside the tent and saw no one.

The Captain along with Hoshi took a walk towards the beach to look around. Hoshi went in one direction where she spotted them near the woods. She saw them lying together in the hammock. She smiled at the sight. They looked so cute together.

"Captain, over here." Hoshi smiled as she pointed them out to the Captain.

The Captain couldn't believe what he saw as he walked over to them. Trip was lying in the hammock with T'Pol lying on top of him snuggled into his chest and shoulder.

"Hymmm ....... " as Archer cleared his throat.

He saw Trip open one of his eyes to look at him.

"What do we have here Commander?" asked a disturbed and angry Captain.

"Ssh! We're taking an afternoon nap. We've had a very trying day." responded Trip with a smile. "And please be quiet. T'Pol is sleeping peacefully. She needs her beauty sleep."

The Captain was taken back by Trip's comments. He wondered what else was going on here.

"What are you doing here Trip? I thought I asked you and T'Pol to meet us at a rendezvous point ten days ago." asked a disgruntled Archer.

"No, what you wanted was for us to work out our differences and get along. We didn't need to hike two hundred fifty miles to know what was wrong and how to fix it." replied Trip quietly.

"Charles, do you mind keeping it down, I'm trying to sleep." moaned T'Pol softly.

"The Captain is here. He's not too happy with us right now." Trip whispered quietly to her.

"When is he ever Charles? Tell him to go away." moaned T'Pol.

Hoshi snickered when she heard this. After seeing them sleeping together, hearing her call him Charles, and talking to him as though the Captain wasn't there. Well ..... maybe the scuttlebutt was true about them, that they were secretly in love with each other.

Malcolm on the other hand was very uneasy about all this. He couldn't believe two senior officers would behave like this. His little world of proper military decorum had been shattered.

"Sir what should we do?" he asked.

The Captain just shook his head in disbelief. Trip was right. The whole purpose of this "enterprise" was for Trip and T'Pol to realize that even though they may not have been really fighting, their actions were affecting others.

He wanted them to think about what they were doing and find a way to resolve it. Which is what they had done in their own unique way.

"Why don't we tear down the camp while sleeping beauty rest. By the time she's ready to go we will be done here." ordered Archer.

They left Trip and T'Pol alone. They walked back to the camp and packed everything away. When they were done they noticed that Trip and T'Pol had gotten up and dressed. They were ready to leave.

"Ready to go home T'Pol?" asked Archer.

"Yes Sir. Ten days of peace and quiet away from the constant noise on the Enterprise was quite refreshing. I look forward to going back to work." replied a stoned face T'Pol.

"What did you learn while you were here?" asked Archer.

"The Commander likes to have his own way." responded T'Pol not falling for the trap.

"What happen to Charles?" asked Hoshi.

"What ever do you mean?" replied T'Pol.

"When you were sleeping with the Commander earlier, you called him Charles." responded Hoshi.

"I heard you coming a mile away. We decided to play act for you as the Commander would say." replied a smug T'Pol.

"On that note people let's go." ordered Archer shaking his head. He knew that T'Pol wouldn't admit the truth, that she loved Trip.

**__**

The End


End file.
